Orlando City’s
3-2 home victory over the Portland Timbers was thrilling. But as the Lions prepare to face the Philadelphia Union on Friday, what key lessons from Sunday’s win can help on the road?
Orlando City’s thrilling 3-2 home victory over the Portland Timbers was the first time in the Lions’ MLS history the club came back from two goals down to win a match.
It was also the first time Orlando City won back-to-back matches since April 2017.
Here are three things we learned from the match: 1. Pinho and Mueller are valuable super subs
Strikers Stéfano Pinho and Chris Mueller could be key cogs for Orlando City (2-2-1, 7 points) for the rest of the year.
Think about it. Pinho had the match-tying goal against D.C. United, and the only reason he hasn’t been on the pitch more this season is because he had a sprained ankle. Mueller has been a bright spot all season with his work ethic and enthusiasm, and Sunday his hard work was rewarded with a goal. At one point, Mueller was on all fours trying to work into the penalty area with the ball. Pinho, meanwhile, never stopped once on the pitch.
It’s no coincidence both Mueller and Pinho were in position to head home Yoshi Yotún’s corner kick.
Right back RJ Allen came on in the 57th minute and had an assist on Dom Dwyer’s match-winning goal. He’s played well off the bench so far this season, too.
“It’s never-say-die attitude with [Mueller], and I thought Stéfano was very similar with his performance coming on and just running wherever it took and giving everything he had,” Orlando City coach Jason Kreis said.
Mueller’s mentality shined through again in his post-match interview.
“That’s why the coach puts you in — because he has faith in you and hopefully you can change the game,” he said. “It’s not just coming out to give the young guys minutes or whatever it is, but you gotta come in and make a difference.”
Expect more super sub performances in the future.
2. Late rally can’t overshadow 80 rough minutes
Orlando City easily could have been down 3-0 or 4-0 after the way the Lions started the second half. The woodwork saved two potential Portland goals: Sebastián Blanco put a shot off the crossbar in the 48th minute and about a minute later Diego Valeri dinged one off the far post.
The Lions had chances early on but none was converted, and the Timbers took advantage of some defensive lapses to put up goals.
Orlando City gave up a set-piece goal in the 59th minute to go down 2-0. Things turned around, sure, as Sunday’s game was Orlando City’s second consecutive home match that started rough and ended with a win.
“We’ve been trying to zero in on why we’ve been starting so slow at home and improving there,” Kreis said.
“I don’t know that I know the answer. For me it’s just getting the guys ready, getting them pumped. At the end of the day, they play the games. What they’re doing in the locker room, what they’re doing on the field before the game to make sure they’re ready to go needs to improve. But tonight I think we saw improvement; we just didn’t see the goal.”
3. At some point, Orlando City must stop conceding first
The Lions have scored seven goals in two matches. That’s great. They also gave up five goals in those two matches and have conceded first in every match so far this season.
“To see us go two goals down was devastating and then to come back from it, you feel like you’ve been to hell and brought back out to heaven,” Kreis said. “Happy. Happy with the result. But not so happy with the performance.”
Yotún was candid after the match when talking about putting away the chances the Lions get early on.
“We have players that can definitely do that since the beginning of a match,” he said through a translator. “We have made a lot of goals in the last minutes of a match and that shows that our team is very well prepared physically. But we don’t need 10 minutes; we need 90 good minutes.”
Conceding first isn’t just a defensive issue. In front of the goal, chances must become goals. Lamine Sané could have put the Lions up 1-0 in the second minute but his header went wide.
It’s a completely different match if that header goes in. Orlando City has shown the ability to create early chances; now the club must create early goals.